Barbara's Birthday
by silly pancake22
Summary: Barbara thought it was just like any other day, until Dick leads her on a wild goose chase all day searching for clues to her gift....


Barbara's Birthday

Dick X Barbara

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It felt the same as any other day as Barbara opened her sleep filled eyes. She yawned and stretched her arms out, the sun had filled her room with a soft golden glow. Barbara glanced over at the clock, 7:15 a.m. Time to get ready for school.... Barbara slumped down and dreaded the thought of going to school on her birthday.

Barbara's 19th birthday, and she would be spending it listening to lectures from boring college professors. But Barbara sighed and decided to grin and bare it. She swung her legs out to the side of the bed and touched her toes to the floor. Her bedroom floor was cold and sent chills up her spine, the heater in Barbara's apartment had been broken for months, so she was used to the cold by now. Barbara walked over to the mirror and looked at her dreadful bed head of hair... She grabbed a brush and began to work through the red knots on her head. She then walked over to her dresser and fumbled through her clothes. Since it was indeed her birthday, she thought she might as well dress up a little bit, if even just for herself. She grabbed a lacy white top with white lace on the bottom and a white ribbon belt accenting her waist. She then slipped on a denim skirt and went up to her mid thy and put white leggings on underneath, the leggings went up to just bellow her knee. To top it off, she wore a baby blue scarf draped around her neck, a pair of ice blue pearl earrings and a pair of white flats. She admired herself in the mirror, liking her outfit she gave herself a pat on the back. Just before leaving the house, Barbara added a slight curl to the ends of her hair and grabbed her books before leaving for class.

Barbara walked to the university everyday, the university was only a ten minute walk, and since Barbara could not afford her own car, walking was her only choice. Barbara got a few looks and sexy whistles from strangers on the street, a lady complimented her shoes, all of these hints said to Barbara that she dressed especially good today. Barbara smiled at this, but it wasn't like she was trying to impress _anyone_....

Barbara made it to class just seconds before the bell rang. She took a seat in the back of the room in one of the few seats left, and zoned out. No one should have to learn on their birthday she thought to herself. But Barbara was keeping herself well entertained, sitting only three rows down was a young man by the name of Dick Grayson. Her long time friend, they had grown up together as super heroes, fighting along side Batman. But that ship had long since sailed. They knew each other better than anyone, they were close, but as friends... A thought that was often disappointing to Barbara. Neither of them had ever dated anyone. But it had been a long time dream of Barbara's that she and Dick would one day fall in love and live happily ever after. Barbara blushed at the thought, Dick was intensely concentrated on the lesson, and Barbara was intensely concentrated on Dick. He had grown up into a handsome young man, all the girls chased after him, especially when Barbara and he would go out on their friendly outings. This secretly made Barbara jealous, but Dick seemed totally unfazed.

Barbara's thoughts were interrupted by the class dismissal bell. She jumped at the loud ring and the flooding of students leaving the room in a hurry.

Barbara was one of the last ones to leave the classroom, as she turned to walk out the door, she nearly face planted into Dick's chest. He stood directly outside of the door, waiting for her.

"There you are!" He said with a smile.

Her heart jumped, "h-Hey!" She said nervously brushing her hair out of her face.

"I wanted to wish you a happy birthday!" Dick pulled her into a small friendly hug.

"Thanks!" She was so happy that he remembered!

"I have birthday plans for you tonight, you're gonna love it, or uh- i hope you love it..." His tone quickly turned from excited to nervous.

"Oh! Where?"

"Uh, its a surprise, its, a scavenger hunt..." He said with a shy smile.

Barbara laughed! Not only did he remember her birthday, but he went all out to plan this for her.

"Here's your first clue..." He said handing her a small white piece of paper.

Dick then dashed of to his next class, leaving Barbara all alone in the hallway. She was in shock, her heart was beating faster than a drum. Barbara looked down at the paper, and unfolded it to read it.

_Barbara, here is your first clue:_

_ Pages and Pages, look in the Shakespeare ages, there you will find _

_ second clue..._

_ -Dick_

'Pages and Pages?' Barbara thought to herself what that could mean. "The library!!!" She whispered quietly under her breath. She dashed to the universities library, forgetting completely about her next class.

Once she got into the library, she looked down at the clue once more, "Shakespeare's ages?" She scanned through the isles of books until she found an entire section dedicated to Shakespeare, close to 200 books and plays and poems, all By Shakespeare. Barbara sighed, there was no other clues, she would have to search through all of these books in order to find the next clue... But she got right to work, anxious about what she would find next.

She flipped through the pages of each book, looking for another white piece of paper. A Mid Summer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet... Nothing....

It must have been close to an hour before Barbara found herself looking through Shakespeare's sonnets, she came across sonnet XVIII, and tucked away in the page, there lay a white piece of paper. She quickly snatched it and read it as fast as she could.

_Babs, here is your second clue:_

_ Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? I will never forget where we spent our summer days...._

_ -Dick _

Barbara thought for a moment... Got it!! She remembered when her and Dick were in their early years of high school, they would spend every day of the summer walking to a little shop that sold lemonade and cookies. The shop had a bar that looked out of a huge window, Barbara and Dick would sit in the same seats everyday and watch people pass by. They would laugh at people with funny hats or smile and wave at kids that walked by.

Barbara remembered that high school was when she first started to get a crush on Dick, she would always get butterflies in her stomach, after a while, she could barely drink the lemonade, at the risk of getting sick. She remembered being so scared to say anything about her feelings for him.... not much had changed, she thought.

She laughed silently and walked out of the library, leaving a pile of books on the floor behind her.

The shop wasn't far from school, several blocks north, Barbara started walking. It was so funny that Dick was going through all this trouble just for her birthday, it seemed silly. Dick had never done anything like this for anyone, much less her. But she wasn't complaining, she was flattered.

Barbara walked down the streets, looking at all of the places her and Dick used to hang out, she grew up on these streets, she and Dick were practically raised here. She remembered the fights they had against Gotham's villains. Barbara often missed fighting along side Dick and Batman, she wondered if she would ever be a hero again... Her thoughts were pushed aside as she walked up to the little lemonade shop. It looked exactly the same as she remembered, her head was flooded with memories as she stepped into the shop. Tears almost filled her eyes, she was so happy she could hardly explain. She looked around for some place familiar. Barbara was drawn to the large window, this is where she and Dick used to sit every time. Barbara took a seat and admired the people walking by. A little girl walked by holding her mother's hand, several couples walked by, holding hands and kissing each other. Barbara smiled at the happiness and love of them.

'The clue....' Barbara thought suddenly, 'where is the clue?' Barbara slid her hand under the seat in search for the

paper containing the clue.... nothing... she did the same underneath the table, her fingers slid over a small folded paper taped to the bottom of the table. The removed it timidly and unfolded it to reveal another clue...

_Barbara Gordon, here is your final clue: _

_ To the brightest star I know, do you remember where we used to go look up at the stars? _

_ Be there tonight, at 8 p.m, The stars are waiting....._

_ -Dick _

Barbara remembered when she and Dick would bring a telescope to Gotham's Park late at night and look up into space, at the planets the moon and the stars. The stars were one of Barbara's favorite things to look at. Dick would always splash her with the water from the pond, just to bug her. But then they would sit down and put their feet in the pond and talk and talk until dawn. "8 p.m?" Barbara looked at the clock. "But it's only 4 p.m.!? " Barbara had missed all of her classes for the day, what was left to do until Eight tonight? Barbara sighed in disappointment, she was now so anxious to see Dick, and to see what he had planned for her. Barbara might as well head home, she could take a nap and try and speed up the time a bit.

Barbara began her walk home again, the sun shone down on her skin warming her and making her smile. She suddenly became overwhelmed with happiness, she had a bounce in her step the whole way home. She was completely unfazed by the looks she was getting from strangers on the street. Guys smiles and winked at her, but they were nothing compared to Dick, her feelings for him were uncontrollable at that very moment, if she saw him right now, she was sure she would burst. When she arrived at her rundown apartment, she was disappointed to find that it was freezing inside. She jogged up to her room and was planning to snuggle in her blankets, but it was freezing, there was no way she would be able to sleep at these temperatures. The thermostat said that the room was 40 degrees... INSIDE.... ridiculous! Shaking her head, Barbara decided to take a hot shower instead, she walked into her bathroom and turned on the shower full blast, thankfully the apartment building still had hot water, even if the heater was broken. Barbara shed her clothing, and stepped into the shower. Letting the hot water warm her skin once more, she inhaled the refreshing steam, and washed her body with her favorite pomegranate body wash and shampoo for her hair. Barbara loved feeling clean and fresh, there was no better feeling in the world! After about twenty minutes, Barbara turned the shower off and reached for a white fluffy towel, she patted her skin dry and then dabbed her hair until it was damp, but not soaking wet. When Barbara reached down for the clothes off the floor, she realized that they were soaked with water... Disappointed, she threw them in the dirty clothes pile and walked out to find something else to wear.

She opened her closet and closely examined each outfit, she needed a knock out outfit to impress Dick, but it couldn't be too flashy... She tried on several outfits, all were too over dressed for a night in the park, Barbara was beginning to stress a bit, the perfect outfit would be crucial in her plan to woo Dick tonight.

Finally, after a search and rescue mission through her closet, Barbara pulled out a navy blue dress, it was a cotton material it was soft and flowey, there was a lace print on the bottom of the dress and thin shoulder straps, it was simple, but it fit her perfectly! The dress went up to just above her knee, and it twirled when Barbara turned. Barbara was very pleased at how it looked, and she was sure Dick would love it, after all, navy blue was one of his favorite colors.

Barbara returned to her bathroom to apply her makeup and fix her hair. She kept her face as clean looking as possible, she powdered her nose lightly and brushed some pink blush over her cheek bones. A little mascara on the top of her lashes and some pink lip gloss that tasted like raspberries. Then she ran some mouse through her hair, then she scrunched her hair with her fingers, creating loose tousled waves in her hair. To finish it off she added a hair clip with a white flower on it. She slipped on a pair of white flip flops and admired herself in the mirror. "Not too casual, not too dressy, its just right!" She said to her reflection. She glanced over at the clock, 7:20.... "Uhhhhhggg!" Barbara said, as she threw herself on the bed in distress. Why couldn't it be eight o'clock already!? Time was moving slower than usual, there was no other explanation. Taking her time, Barbara amused herself by practicing her smile in the mirror and dabbing some perfume on her neck and wrists. Just as Barbara perfected her smile that she would show Dick when she saw him, the clock reached 7:54. "Shit!!" She screamed, it took about 20 minutes to walk to the park, she was going to be late, Dick would think she was rejecting him. Barbara dashed out the door and out to the streets. Pushing her way through crowds of people, and working her way through traffic, she ran most of the way, trying not to be too late.

The entrance of the park were two large iron gates that were always open, she slowed down and tried to catch her breath. She would have to walk to the other side of the park, where the pond was. The tall clock in the middle of the park read 8:05 p.m. Hopefully Dick would assume that she would be running fashionably late and hopefully he waited for her. Halfway through park, Barbara passed the huge fountain that was lit up with lights at night. She spotted Dick sitting on the edge of the fountain, he looked stressed, his hand was resting on his forehead and the other hand was on his knee. Barbara suddenly became too nervous to look at him, she whisked around and pretended not to see him. Unfortunately, Dick picked up the scent of her perfume and stood up instantly and walked towards her.

He placed his hand on her shoulder "Barbara?"

Barbara had no choice but to turn around. "Uh... Oh! Hey!" She said, her voice was shaky and nervous.

"I'm glad you made it!" He said with that handsome smile of his, he no longer seemed stressed. "C'mon! Let me show you your birthday present!" Dick said in an excited tone. He reached down to his side and picked up a picnic basket, then he escorted her through a trail of trees until they arrived at the pond, with a picnic blanket already laid out on the grass.

"Wh... Whats all this?" Barbara asked

"This is the best place to see all of the stars." He said simply, he took a seat on the grass and signaled for her to sit next to him. She did just that, she looked at her surroundings, just as she remembered it. The grass was as soft as silk and the air smelled like rain drops. The moon was right above them, and the moon light reflected off their faces, it brought a certain sparkle into Dick's eyes. But with the moon this bright, you couldn't see any of the stars...

Dick pulled several items out of the basket and placed them in front of them.

"I made pb&j sandwiches, with the crusts cut off, just the way you like them.... with strawberry jelly."

Barbara could only laugh, that was exactly how she liked her sandwiches!

Dick then handed Barbara a thermos filled with hot cocoa, she was intoxicated by the chocolate aroma...

"It even has the little marshmallows, your favorite!"

"How did you know that?" She asked curiously.

"I have known you most of your life, I just know these things, i guess..." He shrugged

"Thats so sweet!" She smiled at him and sipped her hot cocoa.

"Oh! And we can't forget your birthday wish!" Dick said excitedly. He pulled a cupcake out of the basket and handed it to her, it had a small candle in it. Dick then patted down his pockets, looking for his box of matches...

"Uh... I think i lost the matches..." He said blushing with embarrassment.

"Don't worry!"

"No! Wait, I have something better!" He reached into the basket and pulled out a jar that glowed with little floating balls of light, at first Barbara was amazed and had no idea what the little balls of light were. But when Dick unscrewed the lid and the balls of light began to flood out of the jar and lit up the sky.

"Fireflies?" Barbara asked in awe.

"Make a wish...." Dick whispered softly into her ear.

Barbara turned to face Dick, she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, she wished and wished as hard as she could. 'I wish Dick would love me, I wish that we would fall in love and live happily ever after..' The thought ran through her head, it was a silly wish, she knew that, but at this moment, it didn't seem that far away...

Barbara opened her eyes and looked up into Dick's gaze, he had cupped his hands closed, a dim light shone through his fingers.

He carefully opened his hands to reveal a big bright firefly floating around his palm.

"Barbara, You are my star...." The words rolled of his tongue, like he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

All Barbara could do was smile at him, but her lack of a response, only made him nervous, he cleared his throat and his cheeks blushed a bright red.

To calm his nerves, Barbara cupped his cheek with her hand, "Thank you for doing this for me, Dick, this was the best birthday ever..."

He let out a sigh of relief and wrapped his hand around hers, he laced his fingers with hers and continued. "You are the brightest part of my life, and its....." His grip on her hand tightened "...Its taken me all day to work on the courage to tell you...." His palms began to sweat and his voice began to shake.

"To tell me what?" Barbara asked softly.

"To tell you that I love you... " He closed his eyes tightly fearing her response.

Barbara's heart fluttered away as she tried to process what she just heard. She took back what she had said earlier, being clean was not the best feeling in the world, it was nothing compared to this feeling... feeling loved.

Barbara stood up on her tip toes and pulled Dick's head down to press his lips against hers. He opened his eyes in surprise as she formed her soft lips to fit his perfectly. Her lips tasted just like raspberries, which left his taste buds craving for more, he tenderly kissed her until they could no longer hold their breath, and they had to release from each others lips. Dick reached for Barbara's hands and squeezed them tightly. Barbara gazed up into the sky watching the fireflies replace the stars in the sky.

"I love you too!" She said shyly looking him in the eyes. Dick reached down and kissed her on the nose, inhaling the scent of her perfume and her shampoo, he was quickly becoming intoxicated in her scent.

Moments later they were pulled from their thoughts by the feel of rain drops falling from the sky. They pulled away and looked up, their faces were becoming soaked. Barbara began to shiver as she looked back at Dick, Dick took notice and pulled off his Jacket and placed it over her shoulders. The wet strands of hair stuck to the sides of her face, Dick thought to himself that it was probably the most beautiful he had ever seen her. He reached out and grasped her face in his hands and captured her lips, tasting the rest of her lip gloss before licking her bottom lip, she opened her lips and allowed their tongues to twirl. Barbara reached up and ran her fingers through his soaking hair.

Her wish was finally coming true....

* * *

And they all lived happily ever after! I tried something new, i wrote a fic based on mainly Babs and Dick, not so much their superhero selves! If you could tell! I thought it turned out nicely!!

I love this paring more than i love anything! Nothing is more beautiful than fireflies in the summer time, they are like flying stars, why not make a wish on them! It might come true : )

If you want to review, please don't leave any rude comments! Thank you!

More stories are on the way soon!

I am getting ready for an art show!! AAHHH! Stressful! But writing helps break up the stress, which is nice!!

You can check out my art account here : h t t p : / / silly-pancake . deviantart . com ( just remove all of the spaces)

I am planning to have an art show in about a month or so! YAY! I am very excited!

Thanks for reading!


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